Two University of Massachusetts Dartmouth students from Kazakhstan who are accused of obstructing justice in the Boston Marathon bombing investigation appeared to be normal, friendly college students who liked to party, said a student who knew them casually.

“They seemed to be nice and fun-loving,” said Raja Nageswaran, 25, an MBA student at UMass Dartmouth.

Nageswaran, 25, who is from India, said the students — Azamat Tazhayakov and Dias Kadyrbayev — and marathon bombing suspect Dhozkhar Tsarnaev, 19, visited his off-campus apartment in Dartmouth last October for a gathering of other international UMass students.

Nageswaran said they smelled of marijuana and added that they played pool at his apartment. He remembered seeing the two Kazakh students on campus and said they did not stand out except for the fact that they liked to drive their BMW vehicle fast and in an aggressive manner that screeched the car’s tires.

“They used to drive rough everywhere. Their car was very noticeable,” Nageswaran said.

On Wednesday, federal authorities charged Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev, both 19, with obstruction of justice and conspiracy for allegedly removing items from Tsarnaev’s dorm room at UMass Dartmouth on the day he was publicly identified as one of the suspects, according to the criminal complaint.

A third individual, Robel Phillipos, allegedly entered Tsarnaev’s room in Pine Dale Hall with Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev to remove a backpack containing fireworks emptied of gunpowder. Kadyrbayev also took Tsarnaev’s laptop, according to the criminal complaint.

On April 19, federal authorities took Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev into custody after surrounding their apartment in the Hidden Brook apartment complex in New Bedford. They were released that night after being questioned, but were arrested on alleged immigration violations the next day.

Agents from the FBI, Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed several boxes of evidence from their New Bedford apartment and searched through several trash containers in the area. Investigators also combed through the Crapo Hill landfill in Dartmouth, where they found Tsarnaev’s backpack, which contained fireworks, a jar of Vaseline and a UMass Dartmouth homework assignment sheet, according to the criminal complaint.

A woman in the Hidden Brook complex’s office said Wednesday that the students’ apartment has been vacated. Neighbors previously told reporters that they at times heard people in the back of the raided apartment building speaking loudly in a foreign language at night, and that they also occasionally heard a car’s screeching tires.

Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev were charged with violating their visas, and both appeared in an immigration courtroom Wednesday morning in Boston prior to their criminal arraignments in U.S. District Court.

UMass Dartmouth officials said Wednesday that Tazhayakov is currently enrolled at the university but that he has been suspended pending the outcome of the case. Kadyrbayev and Phillipos are both not currently enrolled, officials said.

Page 2 of 2 -
UMass Dartmouth did not issue any further statements other than to say that the university will “continue to fully cooperate” with authorities investigating the marathon bombing. The university also relayed a statement the FBI sent to UMass Dartmouth expressing the agency’s appreciation for the university’s actions to “ensure the safety of the students, faculty, staff and neighboring community.”

Several UMass students said they were surprised to learn of Wednesday’s developments.

“I think it’s unfortunate. I think it might be a sign of things to come in the future,” said Chris Cintron, 21, a junior.

UMass Dartmouth sophomore Aliya Rosenberg, 20, said she had a psychology class this semester with Tsarnaev. She described him as a quiet student who kept to himself. She added that he rarely went to class.

“I just couldn’t believe it. You would never expect anything like this happening at a tiny school,” said Rosenberg, a nursing student who learned of Wednesday’s arrests after receiving a text message from her sister. She said the heavy media attention was taking a toll on her professors, several of whom she said broke down in tears.

“We obviously want attention, but not in this manner,” said Stephen Trudeau, 23, a senior studying medical laboratory sciences.

Nageswaran said Tazhayakov and Kadyrbayev studied engineering. He never heard them make radical political comments, and said he had seen them at least two or three times in gatherings with other international students. He also thought Tsarnaev was a normal kid who liked to smoke marijuana.

“All of them were very friendly. They were like normal students,” Nageswaran said, adding that they had several friends on campus. He said Wednesday’s arrests shocked him and other students.

“Today is the last day of classes, and we don’t need anything like this happening on campus,” Nageswaran said, adding that hiding information from authorities “is something not acceptable, especially in cases like terrorism.”

“They should have approached police as soon as they found out about this guy,” Nageswaran said.